Willie Mullins prepares Plumpton army with Cheltenham heroine Kargese a potential runner as title race goes to the wire

Willie Mullins looks set to send a formidable team to Plumpton on Easter Sunday in defence of his British jumps trainers' championship as the track becomes a key battleground in the title race with Dan Skelton.

The Closutton maestro has entered 11 horses across Plumpton's seven-race card, including seven in the £75,000 Betgoodwin Sussex Champion Hurdle (4.05). The day's feature race has prize-money going down to sixth place, with the winner receiving £39,002.

Mullins' entries include County Hurdle heroine Kargese, the high-class Absurde, Daddy Long Legs, Lot Of Joy, Sir Gerhard, Stormbreaker and Tounsivator. He has also entered Kimi De Mai in the opening 2m4½f mares' maiden hurdle (1.50), Paggane in the £35,000 3m½f handicap chase (3.30), as well as King Alexander and Mr Escobar in the concluding 2m4½f handicap hurdle (5.15).

Kargese and Paul Townend return to the winner's enclosure

Kargese: County Hurdle heroine could run at PlumptonCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

Mullins' sole previous Plumpton runner came on the Monday before this year's Cheltenham Festival when More Coko was turned over as the 1-8 favourite.

The track's chief executive Craig Staddon said: "We're over the moon with Willie's entries and we've still got entries to come for the Sussex Champion Chase on Easter Monday, so let's see if he has more to come too.

"We've got more than £450,000 of prize-money on offer across the two days and it's fantastic to get the big guns coming. Patrick Mullins was fantastic when he came over last month and we were chatting about Easter then. The last thing he said was he was looking forward to coming back, so fingers crossed we see that at declarations time."

Just £8,002 separates Skelton and Mullins in the standings following Warwick's meeting on Monday evening, where the title leader had a winner and a second among the £6,571 in prize-money he earned.

Skelton has also taken aim at Sunday's card, which has £206,000 in prize-money on offer, with 17 entries including Knickerbockerglory, Rock House, Williethebuilder and Aintree heroine She's A Saint in the Sussex Champion Hurdle. He also has two entries at Market Rasen the same day.

Staddon added: "It's great Dan looks like he'll be sending a fair few runners too and hopefully this puts Plumpton in the broadsheets. We're hoping it'll keep our momentum going as we're a small racecourse which has put a lot of effort in and we've seen significantly higher interest for the two days. People are in for a treat.

"However, there's also plenty of support for the local trainers too as there's good prize-money for everyone. It's testament to clerk of the course Marcus Waters and the grounds team because they've spent a lot of time setting up the track perfectly for this weekend."

Classic Getaway: Cheltenham contenderCredit: Caroline Norris (racingpost.com/photos)

The next clash between Mullins and Skelton in the title race will be on the opening day of Cheltenham's April meeting on Wednesday. Mullins has declared a quartet of horses in two races, while Skelton relies on six runners across five races at Prestbury Park.

Mullins has the top two in the betting for the most valuable race of the day, the Matt Hampson Foundation Silver Trophy Handicap Chase (2.40), worth £39,865 to the winner. Classic Getaway heads the market at 4-1, followed by O’Moore Park at 5-1. Skelton relies on Riskintheground and Harper’s Brook.

In the opening 2m4½f novice hurdle (1.30), Mullins has also declared two with reasonable chances in Doctor Eggman and the lightly raced Toad Hall.

Skelton has some live contenders elsewhere on the card, including Mr Hope Street in the 3m handicap hurdle (3.50) as well as topweight Doyen Quest in the 2m4½f handicap hurdle (2.05). His day is rounded off by Illico De Cotte in the 3m4f handicap chase (3.15) and Williethebuilder in the 2m1f conditional jockeys' handicap hurdle (5.00).